Indy 2008 Honors Key Figures

This year has gone like the wind and most of the films I watched were what is usually called "independent". Today there is a blur line to divide independent films from non-independent, probably because the big studios already took over the independent film world to what they consider a market with budgets under $10M. But we know most of the real indy films sometimes have budgets under $1M. Anyway, to me what it's truly independent is the soul of the project and the kind of control the creatives like writer and director have.

We could be discussing the essence of independent films forever, so let's highlight the best indy films I had the pleasure to live this past year. For most of them you may find articles or interviews in this same blog. Here I post the links to IMDb:

3 Américas
(2007, Cristina Kotz Cornejo)

Chop Shop

(2007, Ramin Bahrani)

El Otro

(2007, Ariel Rotter)

Maldeamores

(2007, Carlitos Ruiz Ruiz)

Mister Lonely

(2007, Harmony Korine)

Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad)

(2007, José Padilha)

XXY

(2007, Lucía Puenzo)

In Memoriam

I can't overlook four key figures that passed away during the year. They are Sydney Pollack (director, producer, actor), Anthony Minghella (writer, director, producer), Harold Pinter (writer, director, actor), and Michael Crichton (writer, director, producer). All of them were in some way related to that soul of independent film I mentioned in the beginning, and all were highly respected not only by their audiences, but also but their colleagues. You will find below the links to The New York Times' obituaries. I was lucky enough to assist to a talk by Sydney Pollack at The New School in New York. Among other things he told a remarkable anecdote from the time he was shooting The Interpreter (2005) in the U.N. (first time ever the U.N. allowed to shoot there. Second time was Steven Soderbergh with his double feature Che Guevara during 2007). Pollack said that after a diplomatic dinner with many ambassadors and consuls, one of them took him aside. He was afraid to not follow dinner etiquette, and he was sure he would be reprimanded for that. But that enigmatic diplomat from a top European country asked him: "Can I give you my reel?"

Michael Crichton

(1942 - 2008)

Anthony Minghella

(1954 - 2008)

Harold Pinter

(1930 - 2008)

Sydney Pollack

(1934 - 2008)

Pens Down, Voices Up

"I’m here at the WGA rally in Washington Square Park on November 27th, and I’m very excited to support the writer’s guild. Without the fantastic writers we have in our show I wouldn’t have anything of quality to say--much like right now. I’m very proud to be here, and hopefully this gets resolved very soon, so we can all get back to work."
- Jack McBrayer, actor (30 Rock, Arrested Development)

"We’re like mannequins without writers. It’s like Tim Robbins was saying, we wouldn’t have jobs. My brother –Bradford Winters- was one of the writers on Oz, and Tom Fontana who created Oz-one of my closest friend… so anything I can do to support… Our guild is thinking about striking on June. We’ll gonna need all the support in the world. I just think it’s important for everyone to get behind this. It’s the oldest union in the world, people want this fairness and they’re not asking for outrageous demands, I’m basically here to lend my support."
- Dean Winters, actor (Oz, Rescue Me, Law & Order: SVU, 30 Rock)

"The reason I’m here is because I’m a union member. I started off in laborer’s unions, and I worked in the docks, and I’m a member of SAG, AFTRA, Equity, but the other thing is I’m a great believer in the word. The Bible says, which is great fiction… in the beginning was the word, and the word became flesh… that’s where all the f’ trouble started. Anyway, these wonderful writers gave us the word, and it gets “bollocksed up”. And so many writers are deprived of the rights. Tim Robbins said today: “they are simply asking for fare share”. Nice and soft: fair share. That’s easy enough to say. For these greedy producers, to give up even 10 cents extra, you would think you’re asking for one of their testicles. So, if that’s the way it is… we will take two testicles. No we won’t. Fair share is enough."
- Malachy McCourt, writer/actor (Oz, Ryan's Hope, A Monk Swimming)

"I think today was amazing, because, all these unions came in support of the writer’s guild, and they all understand our fight, and as Tim Robbins said so articulated, this is about people trying to pay the dental bill, pay the rent, put gas in the car, which is something everyone can understand, it’s not about a bunch of millionaires running around, trying to get bigger pools. And managements, it’s easy for them to dismiss us, but I think we’ve actually made them pay attention. They really do understand this is a righteous fight and we’ll gonna stick with it to the end. So, it’s exciting to be here."
- Tom Fontana, writer/creator/producer (Oz, The Jury, Homicide:Life on the Street, St. Elsewhere)

"Today, we’re optimistic that the greedy “mofos” in Los Angeles will give us a fair deal. We want this ended. We wanna ended within a week."
- Tina Fey, actor/writer/creator/producer (Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, Mean Girls)
"This is Jennifer Jason Leigh."
- Jack McBrayer, actor (30 Rock, Arrested Development)

Note: Tina Fey laughs

"This is a good rally. It was good to see people from other unions, especially the Teacher’s union. It’s the first time a teacher approves what the hell I was doing, so I was very happy. It’s an important moment. It’s important that the union movement stays invigorated."
- David Chase, writer/creator/producer (The Sopranos, The Rockford Files, Kolchak: The Night Stalker)

"I’m a WGA East member, I’m a writer and performer in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central, and I’m right now walking and talking to a tape recorder in front of the Time Warner Center. I’m in a very slow moving but motivated picket line. As you probably know, if you’re listening to the Internet, the WGA is on strike. The primary issue is residual payments on DVDs and especially Internet downloads of television episodes and movies. I think as we go into a new era of distribution of intellectual property, we need to make sure writers are compensated for the work they create, in a reasonable way. For example, you’re now listening to audio on the Internet that I’ve created, and the gentleman who’s holding the recorder in front of me, I expect he’s gonna give me a hundred dollars for creating this content for you. I look forward for the hundred dollars, then I probably go inside the Time Warner Center, and go to WholeFoods and buy myself a loaf of very nice bread and then everybody will be happy. So, continue to support the writers if you can, going to the United Hollywood blog, which is a good writer’s guild blog and visit this blog over and over again."
- John Hodgman, writer/actor (The Daily Show)

Note: We are in negotiation right now. I’m asking for a hundred dollars to promote his creativity in my blog. He’s asking for a hundred dollars as rights for his creativity, plus twenty bucks because I lost the audio. Probably I will end up paying him $50-$75, so I will start collecting money for the cause in the next picket line.

"I don’t know if this is an important moment in the history of writing, but for business of writing it is. The content on the Internet is a brave new world for the companies and for writers, and we need to figure out a way to get compensated for the content that companies make money on by streaming it on the Internet. That’s what this is all about. It’s something that has never happened before in this industry. Yesterday we had a nice rally. Many of the big unions in NY came out to support us. It was heartening to see them out there backing us up."
- Richard Sweren, writer/producer (Law & Order)

"I’m here to support my union brothers and sisters. I wrote for David (Letterman) 25 years, and I’m delighted to be here. This is an important moment in history. If we don’t win this one … We gave up too much in 1988. As a result, from a 20$ DVD we get pennies. It’s not fair. Why people watch DVDs? For the story, the direction and the stars. We’re a big element in that. We should have more than a few pennies. Internet was not a problem in 1988, but now I go in the Internet, and I see ads in the websites, so –laughs- somebody says they are not making money, or they don’t know how much they make… obviously they’re making money, because they wouldn’t do it if they wouldn’t be making money. They don’t have a tradition of doing things if they don’t do any money, so obviously they’re making money, and obviously we need to get a fair share. We’re not getting that now."
Q: Do you miss writing?
"Yes I do. I just write letter to friends now."
- Gerard Mulligan, retired writer (Late Show with David Letterman)

"I’m a writer in The Shield, I just directed my first movie called “.45”, with Milla Jovovich, Stephen Dorff and Angus Macfayden, and we’re on strike so there is no work right now. It’s disappointing for all of us. But I hope that there is a resolution very soon. We all want to come back to work. I think this is a big time. All of us who are striking are doing it for the people that are coming after us. Those writers will benefit from us holding out, so we can get new rights for new media, the DVD’s costs and all the things we are striking for. As we all know, the Internet is the future, it’s gonna be money made on there, and we should be making money there as well."
- Gary Lennon, writer/director (The Shield, .45)

Real Mondays at the MoMA

It's Monday and I'm arriving at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I feel similar sensations that I had back in 1999, when I first came to the city and the Museum. Eight years later, the same smell captivate me - nice, clean and particularly recognizable in a few New York buildings. The whole experience of walking into the MoMA reminds me of those days as a tourist, and make me realize again that I'm in New York; I'm at the MoMA. After a conversation with Sally Berger (Curator, MoMA) I understand that the Museum has a strong commitment with its mission, and a constant pursuance for new challenging materials. There is one goal that I believe it specially represents its main soul:

"...these forms of visual expression are an open-ended series of arguments and counter arguments that can be explored through exhibitions and installations and that are reflected in the Museum's varied collection..."

This goal is directly interwoven with the Modern Mondays series. The organizers of the film exhibitions asked themselves: where is the cutting edge of the motion picture? Following the Museum's long tradition of exploring cinematic experimentation, these screenings salute "innovation on screen" and invite us to meet new and old filmmakers, to enjoy not only their films but also to engage in dialog with them. This series developed from a program that commenced in 1968 entitled Cineprobe. In the mid '70s, a complementary program of new video work was screened in Video Viewpoints. Both of these programs were combined into a new program entitled MediaScope in 2002 and from there, Modern Mondays was born, bringing today thought-provoking questions with more than one answer.

This Monday - inaugurating the 2007 cycle - presented Michael Haneke's Funny Games (1997), a film that has been remade ten years later, marking an unusual chapter in cinema history: the filmmaker is the same, what changed are actors (Tim Roth and Naomi Watts) and country (U.S.A.). A remake that remains exactly the same, according to Haneke, except that unfortunately in today's world, violence is even worse. Feeling the subway rumbling beneath my feet in the Roy and Niuta Titus 1 Theater, I was ready to be delighted for first time by Haneke's original version of Funny Games, here in the Museum of Movement and Art.

After the film ended, Joshua Siegel (Assistant Curator, Department of Film at MoMA) introduced writer and director Michael Haneke as one of the best examples of what represents Modern Mondays. After a small conversation, they opened to Q&A with the audience that filled the theater:

- "The rules had become boring. We had to break them." I believe him: in this disturbing film, an animal and a child are killed, and both the characters and the filmmaker play with the audience. Haneke was asked why he needed to show this extreme violence in a film. He shot back: - "Why did you stay? Probably you needed it." There is a particular scene where part of the audience applauds a murder... but Haneke stops and rewinds, making everybody realize that in this parody of adults playing funny and kids behaving seriously, there are more things to question down beneath the surface.

Toward the end of this great night, I was lucky enough to ask Michael Haneke one of the last questions: - "I wonder what would you do if you have to define the word real for the dictionary..." He replied masterfully, summarizing the very essence of these Mondays: -"I had a philosophy professor who told me once that, if you are forced to define something, you're going into a slippery path, so it's better to avoid it..."

He laughed - another funny game around the permanent quest for meaning. It was probably the best answer I could obtain.


Modern Mondays full schedule

Organized by Sally Berger, Assistant Curator; Jytte Jensen, Curator; Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator; Rajendra Roy, Celeste Bartos Chief Curator; and Joshua Siegel, Assistant Curator, Department of Film; and Klaus Biesenbach, Chief Curator; and Barbara London, Associate Curator, Department of Media. Modern Mondays is supported by The Contemporary Arts Council of The Museum of Modern Art. Media sponsorship is provided by Artforum.

The Museum of Modern Art
(212) 708-9400
11 West 53 Street,
between Fifth and Sixth avenues
New York, NY 10019-5497

Getting to MoMA
MoMA is located at 11 West Fifty-third Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Subway: E or V to Fifth Avenue/53 Street; B, D, or F to 47-50 Streets/Rockefeller Center. Bus: M1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to 53 Street.

* Picture above: Arno Frisch has Stefan Clapczynski under control in Michael Haneke's Funny Games (1997)

Ten Steps - LALIFF 2007

Una historia de amor en diez pasos, caminando entre los límites de la realidad y la imaginación. A love story in ten steps, walking the limits between reality and imagination.

Ten Steps, my first 16mm Short Film, will be screened at the 11th annual Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. The festival commitments are:

To promote awareness and distribution of Latin cinema by bringing our Latin cultures to the public's awareness through film, the most influential audiovisual medium of our time.

To showcase and nurture existing and emerging creative talent while serving as a springboard and catalyst for the promotion of Latin films and filmmakers.

Comencé la pre-producción de Ten Steps en Septiembre 2004 y la filmé en Nueva York durante el primer fin de semana de Diciembre, en el mismo año. Lalo Molina fue el cinematógrafo, gaffer y el único miembro del equipo! Lo ayudé como grip, asistente de cámara y todo lo demás. Los actores hicieron más que actuar: también creyeron en el proyecto. Me hice muy amigo de Ivan, y lo mismo pasó con Lalo. Finalicé la edición en Steenbecks durante el verano de 2005, y finalmente un BetaSP estuvo listo para ser proyectado en el showcase de estudiantes de New School en Noviembre de 2005. El film fue mostrado en el programa Cortos I-Sat en desde entonces en diferentes países de Latinoamérica. Es grandioso y gratificante ver gente aún interesada en mostrarlo, y espero que le guste a más gente. Ten Steps es mi primer bebé, y espero tener muchos más.

I shot started the pre-production of Ten Steps in September 2004 and I shot it in New York during the first weekend of December, the same year. Lalo Molina was cinematographer-gaffer and the only crew member! I helped him as grip, assistant camera and everything else. The actors played more than a role: they believed in the project too. I became a good friend with Ivan, and the same happened with Lalo. I finished editing the project in Steenbecks during the summer of 2005, and finally a BetaSP was ready to be screened in the New School students showcase in November 2005. The film was broadcasted since then in a television program called Cortos I-Sat for Latin American countries. It's still great and rewarding to see people interested in showing it, and I hope more people like it. Ten Steps is my first baby, and I hope to have many more.

Ten Steps
USA / 2005 / 7:07
Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA
October 13th, 2007

Director: Pablo Goldbarg
Producer: Pablo Goldbarg
Screenwriter: Pablo Goldbarg
Executive Producer: Pablo Goldbarg
Cinematographer: Lalo Molina
Editor: Pablo Goldbarg
Art Director: Pablo Goldbarg
Sound Design: Pablo Goldbarg
Music: “Preludio Nueve” (Astor Piazzolla)

Cast: Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau, Carole Agostini

Tribeca Film Festival Adiós

El Festival ha finalizado. Dos semanas locas de proyecciones, entrevistas, reuniones, fiestas y escritos. Y más escritos. La experiencia fue maravillosa desde ambos lados: el creativo y el social. Más allá del stress y la comida chatarra... te voy a extrañar Tribeca. Aquí, los premios. Aunque todos son ganadores.

The Festival has finished. Two crazy weeks of screenings, interviews, meetings, parties and writing. And more writing. The experience was wonderful from both the creative and social sides. Beyond the stress and the junk food... I will miss you Tribeca. Here, the awards. Though all of them are winners.

Esta es la lista de recomendadas, más allá de las que fueron cubiertas (not blogged, but recommended):

Avida
2006, France, 83 min.
Directors/Screenwriters: Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern

Fraulein (Das Fräulein)
2006, Switzerland, Germany, 81 min.
Director/Screenwriter: Andrea Ŝtaka

The Optimists (Optimisti)
2006, Serbia, 98 min.
Director: Goran Paskaljevic
Screenwriters: Vladimir Paskaljevic, Goran Paskaljevic

Taxidermia
2006, Hungary, Austria, France, 90 min.
Director: György Pálfi
Screenwriters: György Pálfi, Zsófia Ruttkay

The Year My Parents Went On Vacation
(O Ano Em Que Meus Pais Saíram De Férias)
2006, Brazil, 104 min.
Director: Cao Hamburger
Screenwriters: Cláudio Galperin, Cao Hamburger, Bráulio Mantovani,
Anna Muylaert

Tribeca Film Festival 2007

Desde el 25 de Abril hasta el 5 de Mayo estaré cubriendo el Festival de Cine de Tribeca en Nueva York para el website NYRemezcla. Estaré escribiendo enfocado en el cine argentino presente en el festival, y alguna otra película con presencia hispana. También puede haber alguna entrevista sorpresa.

El Festival de Cine de Tribeca fue fundado en 2002 por Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal y Craig Hatkoff como respuesta cultural y económica a los ataques terroristas del 11 de Septiembre. Hoy cuenta con más de 150 películas en exhibición provenientes de más de 40 países.

NYRemezcla es el único website bilingue de cultura Latinoamericana en Nueva York. Originalmente comenzó en el 2004 como una guía informal para eventos culturales Latinos bajo el nombre de NYMosaico, y ahora es la primera fuente de cultura Latina para Nueva York.

NYRemezcla dispone de cinco secciones de contenido editorial original--Artes, Música, Cine, Actualidad, y Comer y Beber--que cubren las últimas tendencias locales e internacionales sobre artes visuales, literatura, música, cine, vida nocturna, y más, con un foco en la principal cultura Latina.


From April 25 to May 5 I'll be covering the Tribeca Film Festival in New York for NYRemezcla. I'll be writing focused on the argentine films participating in the festival, and some others hispanic films too. It could also appear a surprising interview.

The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff as a cultural and economic response to the 9/11 attacks. Today it hosts more than 150 films from more than 40 countries.

NYRemezcla is the only bilingual website showcasing groundbreaking Latin American and Latino cultures in New York City. Originally started in 2004 as an informal guide to Latin cultural events under the name NYMosaico, the site has emerged as the premier source for Latin culture in New York City.

NYRemezcla boasts five sections of original editorial content--Artes, Música, Cine, Actualidad, and Comer y Beber--that cover the latest local and international trends in visual arts, literature, music, film, nightlife, current events, and more, with a focus on cutting-edge Latin culture.